The Wines

I've been very busy lately , so I haven;t had time to type in here about my winemaking. I'm waiting for the computer to finish processing a 250MB XML file, so here's an update on the wines:

Kentucky Rasinette

The wine, as I've written before is being plagued by some horrible SO₂ problems. The problems stem from a couple of things. 1. The cleanser I used to clean the carboys wasn't rinsed off well enough. 2. the yeast I used (EC-1112) apparently either releases sulpher or something. In any case, it still smells vaguely like a fart. I've racked it once, and that helped, so I plan on racking it a couple more times. it has seemed to dissipate somewhat by itself anyway, and it's starting to smell like wine -- fairly good too.

Strawberry 2003

This one is done, and is waiting for me to finish designing the labels so it can be bottled. We tried it last night, and everyone loved it. it turned out very excellent, but a little too sweet for my tastes -- it's still wonderful. I purchased a bottle of Huber Winery Strawberry to compare too, and everyone agrees that mine is light years better. So within a week I'll be bottling about 28 bottles of it (I have to admit, I've prrobably had a bottle's worth during the whole process). It's very good!

Coffee

Saturday I made a pot of coffee. I had 1/2 a pot left over. I duped it in a gallon jug, adeded yeast nutrient, sugar (LOTS), acid blend, and water. let it sit for 24 hours, and added yeast. it's fermenting. I'm hoping for a low-alcohol Kaluha. who knows!

Reisling

This is my first grape wine. I purchased Reisling concentrate from my [local wine making shop](http://www.wine-beer-makerssupply.com/). My wife is a big fan of Reisling, and I like it alot as well, so this is going to be the first one. I added the concentrate, about 4 gallons of water, bentonite (to help precipitate the crap), and yeast. it's fermemnting at about 65 degrees, and is quite happy so far. Should be done in about 2 months.

Coming Soon: Hard Cider

it's apple time! Rather than go through the pain of crushing apples with my hands again, I'm going to make a gallon of hard cider. I purchased a gallon of cider from Huber's, and once I get the srawberry out of the gallon jug, I'll dump the cider in, adjust the acid and sugar, and ferment away! Hopefully it will turn out good, and I'll make a 5 gallon batch next year.

Coming Soon: Red Red Wine

Not sure what red grape I'll use. Very possibly Syrah, but I might make a Chianti. I purchased a load of port bottles (little stubby green bottles), but I think Chianti might look real good in them. Have to fill them with something.

The way it's going, I'm going to have to build some shelving to store all the wine once its all done! I have about 80 bottles worth in various stages.